June 29, 2007 - Up at the cabin, and me and my Mom got here just before the barricades went up.  This may make for a long, hot Summer. 

Stay safe, keep your cool.  I'll be waiting for y'all down at the dock with a beer.


June 28, 2007 - Bits and pieces©, this and that:

• Today's Post® column, on Belinda (and others).
  
  
• Has anyone else noticed the White Stripes™ new CD is on sale at Starbucks? How to wipe out your Cool Factor© in one easy step. Wow.
  
  
• You know, a self-aggrandizer who builds his career on unfairly attacking public servants who cannot defend themselves isn't much of a public servant, in my opinion. "Puffery" cuts both ways, pal.
  
  
• Guys should not wear LuLu Lemon stuff™. They just shouldn't. Women should, all the time.
  
  
• Heard at our daughter's former school, when one progressive parent pointed out the inequity and dangers of permitting private companies© and wealthy families to subsidize actual education programming: "I"m sick of this social justice stuff!" So said one of the charming fundraising gals. Nice.



• ...and Warren® wishes he was her!

June 27, 2007 – He’s right.

...

Martin Day Of Action
Source: The Canadian Press
Jun 27, 2007 15:40

TORONTO - Former prime minister Paul Martin says protesters shouldn't mar Friday's national aboriginal day of action with illegal activities and barricades.

He says the case being made for improving the quality of life for aboriginal Canadians is strong enough in itself to garner public attention.

Martin, speaking at a public forum on aboriginal rights in Toronto, says he doesn't want to see the efforts of peaceful protesters overshadowed by those calling for illegal actions.

...

June 27, 2007 - Okay, this is quite funny - the "Feed Warren Kinsella" Facebook group. It is also, sadly, true. I ate Kraft dinner last night, straight from the pot; this morning, I washed down something at Starbucks that had the texture of a vulcanized piece of rubber.

A man in his forties, reduced to university-residence-era nutritional practices. Appalling.

...

Feed Warren Kinsella

Several of us are extremely worried about what may come of our good friend Warren during these days without someone to watch over him at the homefront.

This group is dedicated to sending and/or supplying Warren with the bare necessities during his time of need. We are going to try to prevent the imminent danger of scurvy and malnutrition setting in.

So, here's the deal. Buy Warren a meal, a beer, send a gift certificate to a restaurant or a coffee shop, stop by with some baked goods, a glass of milk, or whatever spare change you may find under your sofa cushions.

Here's where:

c/o Daisy Consulting Group
Suite 304, 101 Yorkville Avenue
Toronto, ON
M5R 1C1

...

 

June 27, 2007 - For those who have enquired, I still plan to post some Rogers horror stories - I received plenty. My own is about how Rogers charged me - for a long time - for a service I did not receive, to the tune of thousands, and now refuses to repay. I plan to sue 'em, for that obstinacy. But the stories I've received from people are similarly revealing. Stay tuned.

 

June 27, 2007 - Reading Rheingold's Smart Mobs, and was captivated by the paragraph below. It neatly sums up much of the blogosphere (notably Wikipedia-vandalizing-Rachel-Marsden-stalkers, and, some days, even this place), but also the mainstream media. It's not an insight, per se, but it certainly reminds me that communications VOLUME has long ago trumped communications CONTENT. That may be bad, that may be good, but there is no denying that it has happened:

Rheingold:

"Some people proclaim opinions that are so abhorrent or boring, use such foul language, or are such bad communicators that they sour discussions that would otherwise be valuable to the majority of participants. Some people have a voracious need for attention and don't care whether it is negative attention. Other people use the shield of anonymity to unleash their aggressions, bigotry and sadistic impulses."

 

June 26, 2007 – From yesterday’s Hill Times, my own Wise Guys contribution. It is a highly, highly scientific sampling of public opinion:

Kinsella: In preparation for this scientific opinion column, we conducted a quantitative poll. Here are the results.

1. After the way in which all of the political parties behaved in the Shane Doan debacle, what do you think of the politicians up there in Ottawa?
   
   
   • They are all dumber than a hockey puck: 80 per cent.
     
     
   • They are unfit to share a small locker room with Doan’s jock strap for a hot summer: 15 per cent.
     
     
   • They are all worse than we thought: five per cent.
   
   
   
2. Were you surprised that internet news aggregator Pierre Bourque, who has been doing some shilling for the Tories for months, now drives a Kyoto-killing, climate-change-inducing race car bearing the Tory logo?
   
   
   • Yes: zero per cent.
     
     
   • No: 110 per cent.
   
   
   
3. Do you believe that Stephen Harper has already measured Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor for a pine box, and is waiting for all of us to be down at the lake to finish the job?
   
   
   • Is the Pope Catholic? 55 per cent.
     
     
   • Does a one-legged duck swim in circles? 30 per cent.
     
     
   • Does a bear poop in the woods? 15 per cent.
   
   
   
4. Can you name one achievement of the past Parliamentary session (open ended)?
   
   
   • More than six Senators showed up for work on a single day: 12 per cent.
     
     
   • Myron Thompson said nothing in public, then retired: 15 per cent.
     
     
   • Rona Ambrose: 15 per cent.
     
     
   • Stephen Harper became the first politician in world history to refuse to meet with Bono: 48 per cent.
   
   
   
5. Stéphane Dion:
   
   
   • Is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada: 20 per cent.
     
     
   • Reminds you of your high school physics teacher, without the pen protector: 20 per cent.
     
     
   • Actually speaks perfect English, but pretends not to, because it bothers conservative columnists: 30 per cent.
     
     
   • Wonders what he ever did to deserve Denis Coderre: 30 per cent.
   
   
   
6. Stephen Harper:
   
   
   • Is the leader of the Reform-Alliance-Conservative hockey team: 20 per cent.
     
     
   • Would rather play for the Leafs than be in a caucus room, pretending to listen to Pierre Poilievre: 40 per cent.
     
     
   • Married extremely well: 40 per cent.
   
   
   
7. After Gilles Duceppe announced he was running for the Parti Québécois leadership, then flip-flopped 24 hours later, did you...
   
   
   • Think he was done like dinner: 20 per cent.
     
     
   • A typical separatist: 80 per cent.
   
   
   
8. The Elizabeth May-Stéphane Dion Non-Aggression Pact was:
   
   
   • The type of deal politicians cook up every day, except this one was out in the open: 50 per cent.
     
     
   • Dumber than a proverbial bag of hammers: 50 per cent.
   
   
   
9. Whose memoirs will sell the best this fall, Chrétien or Mulroney?
   
   
   • Jean Chrétien’s, because I’m asking the questions and writing this column, and gave you no other option: 100 per cent.
   
   
   
10. Sexiest, smartest, most influential consultants plying their noble trade in Ottawa’s corridors of power:
    
    
    • Tim Powers and Warren Kinsella: 107 per cent.
    
    
    
11. Probability that summer holidays were ruined, utterly, by that last question:
    
    
    • 100 per cent.

 

June 25, 2007 - I am a Summer bachelor yet again. Scurvy and malnutrition imminent, film at eleven.


June 24, 2007 - As others have observed, the similarities are extraordinary, even down to the Ipsos poll. Incredible. However, there exist some key differences:

• Brown and his minions did not refer to Blair as a "criminal"
  
  
• Brown did not initiate a politically-motivated inquistion against his predecessor
  
  
• Brown did not actively recruit Scottish separatists to his cabinet
  
  
• Brown did not cultivate embarrassing relationships with irritating Irish musicians
  
  
• Brown did not attempt to destroy the lives of Blair and his supporters
  
  
• Brown's inner circle did not regard the epithet "thug" as laudatory
  
  
• Brown did not need a calendar year to make a decision
  
  
• Brown did not cross-subsdidize his leadership campaign with fat government contracts
  
  
• Brown did not personally embody the Peter Principle

...other than that stuff, the situations are identical. It's uncanny, really.

 

June 24, 2007 - Perhaps it's the hour - getting up two days in a row at 5 a.m. to get your daughter to a swim meet way up North can leave you feeling a bit bleary - but Glen Murray has a thoughtful bit on Afghanistan and ribbons in today's Star. No, I can't believe I just wrote that, either. Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age.

I hate the smell of chlorine in the morning.

 

June 23, 2007 - As someone who was a tough critic of her floor-crossing move  - to someone who grew to greatly admire her stoicism in the face of sexist, misogynistic attacks from Messrs. Spector, Klein et al. - I truly wish her a speedy recovery and a clean bill of health. She's tough, and I am confident she will beat this.


June 21, 2007 - Bits and pieces, this and that:

• Today's i-column by the i-Post's i-media i-columnist, which is i-here. Everyone I i-know wants one of these damned i-things. Being in a i-cranky i-mood, I hope they are a massive i-failure.
  
  
• The big 600! I now have 600 very close and personal friends (take that, Cameron and Quito) in Facebook. Who was number 600? My genial, generous and gentlemanly Post editor, John-Turley Ewart! Why do I adore John so much? Because he is (a) a great, great editor and (b) he handles my invoices! Bless you, JTE!
  
  
• I'm tired. Forgive me.
  
  
• Received many heart-felt notes yesterday from folks opposing the "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" ribbons. Here is one well-considered example. I disagree, and will resist the temptation to point out that we live in a democracy - unlike the Taliban-era Afghanistan - that permits robust debate.
  
  
• From the archives (and shown below). The Ontario Tories were, to quote one well-read columnist, "liars." I agree.
  
  
• And, on a related topic, I repost in full this release, because it is important. It's been TWELVE DAYS since the Ontario Conservatives released their ridiculous 244-promises-platform, and they STILL haven't costed it. I intend to keep coming back at this, until they do:

  ...

  Conservative platform: The Numbers Don't Add Up
  
  Seven Promises Estimated at $5.2 billion
  
  TORONTO - On June 9th, John Tory released the Conservative's election platform - with 244 promises - without any costs. His promises to both cut taxes and spend more money don't add up.
  
  Under pressure, Tory promised a full costing of the 244 platform promises when the Auditor General released his pre-election report. Now that the Auditor General has issued his report that confirms the reliability of the province's finances, its time for the Conservatives to disclose the full cost of all of their promises.
  
  Looking at only seven items in the platform, it's clear that the Conservatives haven't done their homework. The estimated costs of just seven of the 244 items comes to $5.2 billion annually by 2011-12. That's not even counting such big ticket items as uploading provincial programs (page 17) or creating electronic health records for all Ontarians (page 6). The seven items are:

  • Eliminate Health Premium $2.9 billion - Page 23
    
    
  • Funding a segregated school system $500 million - Page 10
    
    
  • Install scrubbers at Nanticoke $315 million - Page 49
    
    
  • "Catch up funding" for high growth areas $941 million - Page 3
    
    
  • 70 % full-time employment for registered nurses $225 million -Page 5
    
    
  • "80/20" nurse strategy $80 million - Page 5
    
    
  • Farm risk management and support program $300 million (Conservative release)
    
    
  • Total $5.2 billion

  
  
  "Last time we saw this kind of math, the Conservatives left Ontario with a $5.5 billion deficit", said Liberal Campaign Chair Greg Sorbara." Ontarians realize the progress that has been made in every area of public policy. They simply have no appetite to turn back the clock".

...

 

 

June 20, 2007 - The power of the people. Congratulations to all of you who took time to write (and thanks to all who copied me, as well.)

I hope a valuable lesson was learned down at City Hall. But I doubt it.

 

June 20, 2007 - This, truly, is a disgrace.

Whether you support our presence in Afghanistan or not (and I have many, many friends who emphatically do not, including one of the guys who runs this web site for me), on one point everyone should be able to agree: we should support the young men and women who are literally losing their lives over there, in Canada's name. There's nothing jingoistic or ideological about that. It is saying to these young men and women, and their families, that we miss them - as people, as neighbours, as friends, as fellow citizens. That is it.

David Miller, and much of Toronto City Council, have made a political error of extraordinary proportions, here. They must now follow the logic of their position to its logical conclusion, and remove all other insignia of petty nationalism - starting with Canada's flag. Miller and his like-minded cabal are about to become an international news story, in a way that they do not fully appreciate or want.

I am appalled by this, and not just because I support our presence in Afghanistan. I am appalled by what this says to these young men and women, who deserve - at the very least - our collective respect. When someone is prepared to risk their life for the rest of us, they deserve that much, I think.

Boycotting Toronto, as some propose, is just as foolish as what Miller et al. have done. I suggest, instead, that you write to David Miller - without bashing Toronto, or getting into an ideological argument, or turning this into a debate about strategic military imperatives - and tell him what this decision says to our country's young men and women, now reading about it over in Afghanistan.

His contact information is here. Let him hear from you. I plan to do likewise.

E-mail: mayor_miller@toronto.ca
Mail: Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor, 100 Queen St. West, Toronto ON M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-397-CITY (2489)
Fax: 416-696-3687

 

June 20, 2007 – First off, the new Queens of the Stone Age – titled, perfectly, ‘Era Vulgaris’ – is HEAVY, maaaan. What an amazing rock’n’roll band, er, Josh Homme is. Stand-out track, already now acting as my current cell ringtone: ‘Sick Sick Sick,’ which is. The accompanying vid is unlikely to be seen in prime time, or make you run to the fridge anytime soon.

Also swiped: the new Tiger Army, ‘Music From Regions Beyond.’ Is it wrong that our five-year-old’s favourite band is inked-up psychobilly? I think not.

Last purchase: Tim Armstrong’s ‘A Poet’s Life,’ containing the summer’s catchiest song, of this or any summer. Plus Canada’s own Skye Sweetnam, too!

Instead of actually telling my wife, I admit to CD purchases on the blog. It’s cowardly, of course, but it works. I recommend it.

 

June 19, 2007 - Quite a few of us inside and outside the CBC feel elated, too!

 

June 19, 2007 - You know when an announcement has gone badly when it becomes (a) a laughingstock and (b) your own senior people start to distance themselves from it. Yikes!

Vrooom vroom!

 

June 18, 2007 – Donate now, and donate often. Janke is a good guy (for a conservative who has rung my bell once or twice), and he needs help. I plan to remind people about this important appeal on a regular basis.

 

June 18, 2007 - Kind of wondering who, in this situation, is the driver and who is the driven. Certainly explains quite a bit, though, don't it?

(That sound you just heard was a valve popping in Small Dead Kate's noggin - upon hearing that the party is paying an Easterner a lotta dough to do what she does, daily, for free. Life is full of irony, etc.)

...

Tories use news and NASCAR in bid for voters
(BRITE-Conservatives-N)
Source: The Canadian Press
Jun 18, 2007 12:13

By Bruce Cheadle

OTTAWA (CP) _ The federal Conservative party isn't just targeting the speed-demon demographic by sponsoring a car on the Canadian NASCAR circuit.

It turns out the party logo - a big blue "C" - appears on the hood of the car driven by Pierre Bourque, whose popular Internet news aggregator sells tourqued headlines to political operatives.

Bourque's website confirmed the connection Monday, linking to a story by Inside Track Motorsport News that noted his Dodge Charger is the sponsored Tory vehicle.

As the Inside Track story states: "Bourque's popular Bourque Newswatch site is on the daily 'must-see' list of favourites for Canadian news and political junkies."

Research on the business model for Bourque Newswatch suggests the federal Conservative party has just guaranteed itself favourable coverage for the foreseeable future by sponsoring Bourque's hobby.

Past and current Bourque clients have confirmed to The Canadian Press that advertisers on the site can expect flattering headlines or links, or headlines and links denigrating their opponents.

The Conservative party refuses to confirm or deny that it employs Bourque's headline service directly. But months of negative headlines and links to scathing blogs about Liberal Leader Stephane Dion on Bourque Newswatch indicate someone with an axe to grind is paying the news aggregator, which openly advertises its headline service for sale.

When the Conservatives announced the NASCAR sponsorship Sunday, they also neglected to mention the sponsored vehicle is driven by Bourque.

Instead, the party's news release referred to Whitlock Motor Sports.

"This is a unique opportunity for the Conservative party to reach out to Canadians," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in a release.

NASCAR has a big middle-class fan base that the Tories want to get their message out to.

Immigration Minister Diane Finley says sponsoring a car is a way for the Conservatives to tap into that following.

"The people who follow NASCAR are our kind of people. They're hard-working families, they're taxpayers who play by the rules. And those are the people that we're targeting," Finley told the Globe and mail newspaper.

INDEX: AUTOMOTIVE MEDIA POLITICS
(c) 2007 The Canadian Press

 

June 18, 2007 - Cool. Someone has MP3'd a bunch of Hot Nasties stuff. Bjorn and Boris are cross-posting it to the "Nasty Past" page, too, so you can now get all your Nasties tunes for free.

They are also hard at work, by the way, on the new super-duper www.warrenkinsella.com web site look, with many bells and whistles therein. Stay tuned.

 

June 18, 2007 - Anybody else finding Rogers to be a complete joke, these days? Send me your best (short) horror story and I'll post it, at wkinsella@hotmail.com.

 

June 18, 2007 - Back from the cabin, and do I ever have a story to tell.

(Before I do, permit me to draw your attention to this interesting piece by a fine Globe writer, spotted upon our return from the land of mosquito. The "Streisand Effect" didn't happen in my case, cited therein, because - I suspect - Dork Boring makes the celebrated Letterman stalker look thoroughly restrained and moderate in comparison.)

On a far more worthwhile topic, thanks to the many who sent along kind notes on or about June 15. You are great folks, and I appreciate your kindness more than you know.

 

June 15, 2007 - Three years ago today. Up at the cabin with my Mom.

Man, I miss him.

 

June 14, 2007 - Just did an interview with a nice fellow from Toronto Life. They're doing a big piece on John Tory. Apparently Tory and his staff delighted in pointing out to the writer that I and other Liberals supported Tory when he ran for mayor of Toronto.

It's true, we did, I told this writer.

We chatted about this and that, and then I came to why I and so many others are so disappointed (and in some cases angry) with John Tory. This is a paraphrase, but you'll get the gist of it.

"How can John Tory actually claim to be a 'progressive' conservative, as he does," I asked this writer," when he has allowed a knuckle-dragger like Randy Hillier to be his candidate up near Ottawa? How can he, on the one hand, express moderate disapproval of Hillier before the nomination - and then, just on Saturday, applaud Hillier as he was introduced onstage? How can he - and I am quoting verbatim from the Lanark Landowners Manifesto, here, written by his candidate Hillier - embrace a man who has written this: 'Using taxpayer's dollars, our governments support and promote Quebec, Native, Arts, Homosexual, Urban and Multi cultures. However when it comes to the independent, peaceful rural culture in Canada, government support is stifling, suffocating and controlling.' That's what John Tory's candidate, Randy Hillier, wrote!

I was warming up, a bit, so I kept going: "Shame on John Tory! Shame on him! Shame on him for claiming to be an urban, urbane 'progressive' conservative, and then turning around and permitting the candidacy of someone who rails against 'Quebec, Native, Arts, Homosexual, Urban and Multi cultures'! "

The John Tory we all knew, I told the writer, ceased to exist on the day that he permitted Randy Hillier to be his standard-bearer. And that is the case we intend to put before the people of Ontario this Fall. And they will agree with us.

 

June 14, 2007 - From Coop and very, very funny. Cosh is like this on hockey. Where is the blogging expert on the world's greatest sport?

 

June 14, 2007 - Today's Post column, on rascally randy ribald Royals.

Oh, and I loved this one. We didn't get a photo of them together. But we will:

...

John Tory and Mike Harris together again… but shhhh, don’t tell!

North Bay - - Tonight John Tory and Mike Harris are sharing a stage and a toast to their plan to take Ontario backwards to the days of deficits, division and cuts. But shhhh. Don’t tell.

Current Conservative leader John Tory is in North Bay for a fundraiser with former Conservative leader Mike Harris.

But the Conservatives have gone out of their way to avoid any media noticing or being allowed to take any pictures.

The Conservatives are so desperate to keep the ghost of Mike Harris in the closet that they even barred a Liberal from purchasing a ticket.

Tonight Tory and Harris will raise a glass to their attempts to divide Ontario with private schools and private health care. Shhhh…

-30-

Christine McMillan
Director of Strategic Research and Policy
LCSB

...

 

June 13, 2007 – My Dad, gone three years this Friday, would be so, so happy to read about this result in his beloved Calgary:

...

Alberta Liberals win byelection in Ralph Klein's old Calgary riding (Byelxns-Alta)
Source: The Canadian Press
Jun 12, 2007 23:43

CALGARY (CP) - Voters in Calgary-Elbow, the riding once held by former premier Ralph Klein, have delivered a hard head shot to Alberta's governing party and its newbie premier tonight.

In one of two byelections, Liberal candidate Craig Cheffins defeated Progressive Conservative rival Brian Heninger in the central Calgary seat that had been home to Tory royalty since it was created in 1971.

In the sprawling riding of Drumheller-Stettler, east of Calgary, Jack Hayden successfully raised the Tory standard once again in a region his party has won by lopsided margins ever since it was wrested from the Social Credit party in 1979.

The byelections were the first tests at the ballot box for Premier Ed Stelmach since he took over the top job from Klein late last year.

Klein had held Calgary-Elbow for 18 years before stepping down in January.

The Tories now have 61 seats in the 83-seat legislature while the Liberals have 16, the NDP have four and the Alberta Alliance has one; there is one Independent.

INDEX: POLITICS
© 2007 The Canadian Press

...

 

WWW.TORYTUBE.CA

June 8, 2007 - Live from the Ontario Liberal war room at the Ontario Conservative AGM! George Smitherman doing a press thing!

June 8, 2007 – Whether you approve of Stephen Harper, or Bono, or both or neither, you have to smile at this quote.  The schtick of the last guy.  I love it.

(By the way, I believe “schtick” is spelled the way I did, not CBC.  Yiddish scholars?)

June 7, 2007 - Today's column, which was not easy to research.

 

June 9, 2007 – A couple things struck me, when I went looking for stories about the appalling, despicable decision of some MPs to haul a sick Jean Pelletier back before a House of Commons standing committee. One, finding a story about it was difficult to do. It suggested that reporters – and citizens – knew it was transparent attempt to get the sponsorship mess back in the headlines, and maybe recapture some lost ground in the public opinion polls.

Two, who is this Pierre Poilievre nitwit? I just noticed him, after a few blessed decades in which I was happily unaware of his existence. Jane Taber says it best: "Not Hot: Pierre Poilievre. The 27-year-old Tory MP, who Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale sarcastically suggested needs potty training, has a potty mouth. He is not well-behaved in the Commons, using profane language and gestures against his opposition colleagues. The Liberals jokingly refer to him as Alex Keaton — the smart-mouthed Republican teenager character played by Canadian Michael J. Fox in the sitcom, Family Ties. It fits!"

 

June 6, 2007 - Does the logo below give you epileptic seizures? It didn't have that effect on me, necessarily, although it did cause envy-related tremors that some agency, somewhere, was actually able to charge LOTS OF MONEY for this. I feel another tremor coming on now.

 

June 6, 2007 – From yesterday, spotted by the always-amazing Oracle. Someone over at PCO is interested in this space, seems. Means they’re interested in a certain Ottawa company, too, I suspect.

Memo to certain Ottawa company: you’re going to have to kill me to shut me up.

...

VISITOR ANALYSIS
Referring Link	http://www.warrenkinsella.com/musings.htm
Host Name	smail1.commissions.gc.ca
IP Address	69.157.213.27 [Label IP Address]
Country	Canada
Region	Ontario
City	Ottawa
ISP	Privy Council Office
Returning Visits	1
Visit Length	1 min 46 secs
VISITOR SYSTEM SPECS
Browser	MSIE 6.0
Operating System	Windows XP
Resolution	1024x768
Javascript	Enabled

...

 

June 5, 2007 - And so begins the battle. It'll be a tough one, but I believe it'll end the right way - with Dalton McGuinty being re-elected.

Why? Glad you asked.

Well, as per Keith and Chinta's story, people weren’t wild about the health care premium but – even back when that tough decision was made – they understood why he had to do it. With a $7 billion deficit left by Harris and Eves, it was shut down hospitals, and fire nurses – or find more money to pay for health care. Voters understood that.

Second, for most voters, McGuinty’s party is generally doing what it has to do. There is no ideologically driven, mean-spirited class war, as there was when the Conservatives were in power. Voters remember what it was like in those bad old days. They don’t want to go back.

Third - and I know this from personal experience - part of Chrétien’s winning formula, and McGuinty’s, is being like Canadians themselves – modest, ordinary, never bragging. Undersell what you’re doing, then overperform. Voters remember that. That’s why McGuinty will win the next election. As with Harper, in a battle for the hearts and minds of Canadians, Tim Horton’s will always beat out room service at the Four Seasons. McGuinty’s Tim Horton’s. John Tory’s the Four Seasons.

Fourth, let's leave aside for a moment the smaller class sizes, the smaller deficit, the more doctors and nurses. Forget about that stuff for a moment….You hear that? That’s the sound of social peace. No rioting at Queen’s Park. No people being shot to death for protesting in a provincial park. No welfare Moms being left to die alone in sweltering apartments. Jobs are up, unemployment is down, people feel good.

Fifth, under Harris and Eves, the Conservatives consciously and deliberately hacked the word "progressive" out of their name. They took an axe to it. Liberals didn’t do that. They did. John Tory arguably wants to jump back in time to the time of Bill Davis. But everyone around him – in the caucus, in the party – want to jump back to the meanness of the Mike Harris era. Everyone in Tory's party still thinks beating up on poor people is good public policy. We don’t.

Six, reporters like covering conflict, not consensus. The journalistic pickings have been damn slim for reporters in the McGuinty years: jobs and economy up, social strife down. Media solution? Drive him out of office! The voters, as we will see, have a different agenda. They always do.

Seven, Dalton ain't a millionaire, or a powerful former corporate executive, or even perfect. He never claimed to be. He’s a regular Joe Schmoe, and Ontario is full of regular Joe Schmoes. If you close your eyes, it’s not a stretch to picture him riding public transit, or lending you his lawn mower when yours breaks down, or having him over for a barbecue. With John Tory, as much as I like him, it’s kind of hard to picture him doing any of those things. Ever.

Dalton McGuinty is going to be re-elected in Ontario because he most resembles the people who live and work here. And because, at the end of the day, they like him and the job he’s doing.

 

June 4, 2007 – To the three folks who have asked: why do I consider Maclean’s Chris Selley so contemptible? Because he links to bigots who promote that old anti-Semitic canard, the "kosher tax"; a woman who calls for genocide in Africa; and another guy who calls himself a "bigot". He’s a tit, in other words. And I still don’t understand why Adam hired him.

 

June 4, 2007 - The two things I got a Blackberry 8800 for - using it as a modem for a laptop, and the data storage - it doesn't do. At all.

Since Friday, I have spent hours on the line with "Rogers customer service" (there's an oxymoron for you) trying to fix both problems. I finally reached one honest fellow late last night. "As a techician," he said, "I wouldn't have bought it. They rushed it onto market without resolving many problems."

An honest person at "Rogers customer service!" How he got a job at John Tory's sole corporate claim to fame, we'll never know.

Any propeller heads with the solution to these riddles, I'm all ears at wkinsella@hotmail.com. Rogers sure isn't.

 

June 4, 2007 - Our five-year-old, at dinner last night.

Five-year-old: "I played checkers today with my imaginary friend."

Me: "Who won?"

Five-year-old, to much laughter from his siblings: "My imaginary friend."

Me, trying to keep a straight face: "How did he win, buddy?"

Five-year-old: "He plays harder, Daddy."

 

June 1, 2007 - I am trying to make nice with the Zerb, so here goes. An open letter:

...

"Zerb:

I am not an "expert" on newspaper design or anything else, but I am - increasingly rarely, these days - a registered lobbyist. I try my best to be honest, too.

Honestly, then, applying the "lobbyist" designation is an old journalist's trick, and one that the Star regularly uses on those rare occasions when referring to the Post's media critic (ie., me). Lobbyist is a word that some journalists use selectively, as a pejorative and to express disapproval. It's not that the word is inaccurate. The problem lies elsewhere.

There are many other people and organizations that could be called "lobbyists." Interesting examples are found here and here and here and here. So why aren't those churches and social justice organizations called "lobbyists" in the pages of the Star, or elsewhere? Because it wouldn't serve the not-so-hidden agenda that is at work, that's why.

Besides, there is a bigger problem, found here. And here. And here.

I could provide many other examples, Zerb, but I don't have to. If I am a lobbyist - and I am, because the law characterizes some of what I do as lobbying, and requires me to disclose it, which I proudly and enthusiastically do - then so is the Toronto Star. And whole pile of other media folks, besides.

It's no big deal, Zerb, and not a shot at you or your colleagues. However, I'm not so sure the reverse isn't true.

Best wishes,
W"

...

 

June 1, 2007 - The proper response is not to bleat that it is "malicious and petty". The proper response is to express regret for the loss of a man's life, and to take responsibility - even if it all came down while the buck-passer was still in power.

Another example, from a long line of examples, why the party of McGuinty will get re-elected in October - and why the party of Mike Harris remains unfit to run a two-house paper route.